LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson has warned against tougher media regulation in the UK ahead of Lord Justice Leveson's report into press standards.

Mr Johnson said that at a time when developing nations such as India were allowing their press greater freedoms, it was wrong to bring in statutory regulation of the press.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live during a trip to India to promote London businesses, he said: "I am a bit nervous we are heading in the opposite direction to many other countries in the world which are liberating their press and allowing free speech, and I think statutory regulation is not something that I would support.

"What are the attractions to London as an international investor? What makes it a great place to live? It's because you have a stable system where it is very largely uncorrupt. I can tell you that compared with most other jurisdictions in the world, we have a political system that is largely free of financial corruption and bribery.

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"I think it is very largely because we have a pretty, uninhibited, vociferous and exuberant media that gets on and turns over all sorts of flat rocks. If you go around sterilising, pasteurising and homogenising the media you will have a bad effect on our democracy."

What recommendations do you think should be included in the Leveson report? Are you in favour of state regulation of the media? Do you think the press currently has too much or too little freedom? Add your comments below.

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